Doctor Who - The Colony Of Lies Part 23

The Doctor watched, agitated, as Tyrenians came and went, reporting the latest stage of the fighting. The battledroids had made three incursions and at each of the hull breaches they were making steady progress, fighting their way ever deeper into the Tyrenian ship.

"They"re on floor six now, sir. We"ve fallen back again,"

reported a warrior.

Zenig nodded an acknowledgement. "Any casualties?"

"Two injured, no deaths."

"And the charges?"

"Set and primed."

The Doctor hurried over to Zenig. "Charges?" he asked, nervously.

"Explosive charges on all floors. That was your plan wasn"t it, Doctor? Lure the droids into the bunker and then destroy it?"

"Well, no, actually, it wasn"t." The Doctor drew himself up to his full height and tried to find his most serious expression. "I hadn"t intended this to be a suicide mission. I meant for us to teleport to your ship at the last moment, leaving the droids here."

"I think I prefer my version," Zenig smiled coldly. "We will use the teleport to escape but will set the charges to go off after we deport."

Another warrior hurried in. "The entire force of droids is now within the bunker," he announced.

"Excellent. Then it"s time to leave. Come on, Doctor." Zenig led the way down the nearest corridor, closely followed by the Doctor and the other command-deck Tyrenians.

At the teleport the ma.s.s evacuation quickly began; in groups of ten the Tyrenians began teleporting across to the ship. The Doctor looked on in amazement as group after group filed into the room and disappeared.

"Where"s Jamie?" he asked after a while, worried that the Scots lad had not returned.

"He went to help defend the rear entrance," Zenig told him.

"Operate the teleport for me, I"ll go and look for him and his group. They should be here by now."

Hurry," shouted the Doctor. "Those droids are getting closer!"

Zenig disappeared at a run.

Jamie and his three Tyrenian companions were running for their lives. They dived round a corner just ahead of a missile that exploded, showering them with debris. Jamie helped the giant Goyran to his feet.

"That was close," the Tyrenian champion muttered.

"Aye and they"ll be closer again if we don"t get a move on,"

replied Jamie, leading them away down the side corridor.

Suddenly he stopped as the distinctive grey shape of one of the battledroids rolled into view at the end of the corridor.

Jamie turned to look the other way but a second droid had appeared behind them. They were trapped. Jamie could hear a mechanical whirring as a weapon slid into place on the outstretched arm of the nearest droid.

Zoe was screaming. Veena looked on horrified as the girl jerked around in her seat, threatening to dislodge the sensors clipped to her wrists and strapped around her forehead. Her face was bathed in sweat, her hair limp on her head. The barrage of data she was receiving seemed to be hitting her physically. Veena took her pulse and was shocked to find it racing. If Zoe remained connected for much longer she was going to suffer a heart attack.

Zoe was lost. Lost in a world of data. She no longer had a body, or a name. All she had was a single idea, a single thought, and a command; deactivate the droids. If only she could find the right place, in this universe of data, to place her message. And then she saw it, like a single silver needle in a haystack of golden corn. She dived forward, reaching out for the port she needed, stretching for eternity across infinity until finally she made contact and gave her command.

To Veena watching it was like seeing a puppet having its strings cut; one moment Zoe had been hyperactive, the next she was slumped and unmoving. Veena just hoped that she"d been successful in her mission.

Jamie opened his eyes and looked up. Silence. No missile whizzing through the air. No battledroid advancing on him.

Silence. The droids were frozen, deactivated.

"Someone"s switched the power off," Goyran suggested.

Suddenly there was movement from behind the battledroid and Zenig appeared. "Come on," he shouted at them, "the bunker"s wired to blow in two minutes."

Jamie got to his feet and did as he was bid. Now was not the time to give up on running.

The Doctor looked up anxiously as Jamie and the final handful of Tyrenians ran into the teleport room, Zenig bringing up the rear.

"Go on Doctor, get into the transport area," ordered Zenig as the rest of his warriors and Jamie did the same thing.

"What about you?" asked the Doctor.

"Someone"s got to operate the teleport," he said simply.

The Doctor, realising what he intended, jumped down and hit the send control. Jamie and the other Tyrenians disappeared, leaving the two of them alone.

"This isn"t necessary, Zenig. How long have we got before the big bang?"

"About a minute. Give or take. You"d better get going."

"Not without you." The Doctor folded his arms defiantly.

"There must be an auto-send function..."

Zenig shook his head. "I"m the only one who knows," he said simply. I want my people to have a future and their own ident.i.ty. Without me, only you and your friend Jamie will know the truth; will you promise me you won"t betray my people?"

"Of course we won"t. One more lie on Axista Four won"t hurt anyone... But you don"t have to die..."

"I don"t agree. While I live there"s a chance I might let the truth slip out, maybe not now, but when I"m old and in my dotage. This is the best way."

Suddenly Zenig wasn"t looking at the Doctor; his attention had been taken by something arriving at the door. The Doctor turned to see what it was, realising what an old trick he had fallen for just a split second too late as Zenig chopped at the back of his head and sent him into unconsciousness.

Zenig leapt forward to catch the Doctor and laid him gently into the transport area before going over to the controls.

"Goodbye, Doctor," he murmured as he pushed down the "send" control and the strange little man disappeared.

Zenig checked his chronometer, which was counting down to the self-destructive charges he had set. There were seconds left. Zenig began to wonder what death would feel like but before he got very far with the thought the series of ma.s.sive explosions began, ripping apart the bunker, destroying the entire army of battledroids and taking his own life.

EPILOGUE.

Chapter Nineteen.

The Doctor waited while Administrator Greene sat and considered his proposal. After what seemed like an age, the Federation representative finally spoke.

"And they came from where?"

The Doctor smiled, but his eyes remained cold.

"The planet Tyrenia," he answered, as if it had been obvious.

"It"s the third planet of a twin-star system in Sector Five.

Well, at least it was before the great accident."

"The great accident, yes, of course," said Greene nodding.

"What was it again? I do want to make sure the records have it right. Meteorite strike?"

"Plague," stated the Doctor. "It all but wiped the race out.

The few thousand Tyrenians that managed to escape to Axista Four are all that are left of the race. s.p.a.ce refugees, much like the ones you"re sending here."

"Indeed, indeed. And I"m sure they"ll be as welcome as the other newcomers," commented the Federation man, with a politician"s lack of conviction.

"You"ll ensure the records back on Earth are corrected?"

demanded the Doctor softly. "There do appear to have been some inaccuracies in the current versions."

"Consider it done, Doctor. The Empire thanks you for your help in these sensitive matters."

"Empire? I thought you were from the Terran Federation?"

"Things change, Doctor. And Earth Empire has a nice ring to it, don"t you think?"

The Doctor shrugged. "To be honest I don"t really care what you call yourselves, as long as you let the people here on Axista Four get on with their lives without interference. And I do mean all the people in the widest sense - humans, Tyrenians, the new refugees..."

"I"m sure they will, Doctor. Will you be staying on to see the arrival of the first refugee ship?"

The Doctor hesitated and was rewarded with a fleeting look of horror that pa.s.sed over Greene"s face as he contemplated the Doctor giving him an affirmative answer. He decided to put the Administrator out of his misery.

"No, I don"t think so."

Greene watched the small stranger leave and breathed a sigh of relief. This wasn"t the solution to the Tyrenian problem that he had been sent to achieve, but it was a a solution. He just hoped his masters saw it the same way. solution. He just hoped his masters saw it the same way.

Soon he"d be back in suspended animation en route en route to one of the new Empire strongholds to receive his new orders, and his next mission. He just hoped that, wherever it took him, he wouldn"t run into the Doctor - any of them - again. to one of the new Empire strongholds to receive his new orders, and his next mission. He just hoped that, wherever it took him, he wouldn"t run into the Doctor - any of them - again.

The party was still going on in Plymouth Hope City; a belated celebration for the arrival of Kirann and the other newly revived original colonists who were now joining the colony. It was also a celebration of the peace accord with the Tyrenians.

The Doctor found Zoe and Jamie sitting on the porch outside Tam Kartryte"s old sheriff"s office. Kirann and Billy Joe were with them and their host, all sitting and chatting about the future of the colony. It had been agreed by all parties that Plymouth Hope City would remain a unique and special place. Enough of the defrosted original colonists were interested in maintaining a more liberal version of Back to Back to Basics. Basics. Most of the Realists, including Hali and Max, who, against the odds, had made a full recovery from his injuries, had agreed to return to be a part of it. In spite of the ma.s.sive influx of refugees, it appeared that Stewart Ransom"s dream was going to live on. Most of the Realists, including Hali and Max, who, against the odds, had made a full recovery from his injuries, had agreed to return to be a part of it. In spite of the ma.s.sive influx of refugees, it appeared that Stewart Ransom"s dream was going to live on.

The Doctor beckoned to Zoe and Jamie and quietly the three of them slipped away from the party and started to head back towards the colony ship.

"Shouldn"t we at least say goodbye?" asked Zoe, feeling rude.

"Oh, you know me, Zoe: I never was much good at goodbyes. I think it"s much better if we just disappear quietly when no one is looking," explained the Doctor. "Anyway, we have to leave. I overheard Kirann and Tam talking about appointing a new sheriff and I really don"t want to have to disappoint them."

"Are you sure they were talking about you, Doctor? Billy Joe reckoned I should have been the new sheriff," complained Jamie.

"In that case, we really must be going," replied the Doctor, with a smile. But as they headed past the corral, a figure stepped out of the shadows. It was Veena. Behind her they could see lights burning in the offices of the CEAC as work continued in preparation for the arrival of the refugees.

"Going somewhere?" she asked.

The Doctor looked embarra.s.sed. "Yes, we thought we should be on our way. We don"t like to stay anywhere too long; it"s not really our style. You understand how it is."

Veena sighed. "You can say that again. All my life I"ve lived on starships; it"s all I"ve ever known."

"It suits some," commented the Doctor.

"But don"t you ever want a home? Somewhere to settle down?" Veena asked him wistfully.

"I"m lucky," smiled the Doctor. "I can take my home with me."

"I hear you"re to be made Acting Captain of the Hannibal Hannibal,"

Zoe interjected, trying to brighten the mood.

Veena nodded. "Apparently making it permanent is just a formality," she told them.

"So how come you don"t sound too happy about it?" asked Jamie, noting the sadness in her voice.

Veena looked over in the direction of Plymouth Hope, a strange expression on her face. "Because I"m not sure I"m going to accept it," she explained. "Maybe it"s time for me me to settle somewhere..." to settle somewhere..."

The Doctor nodded his head, sagely. "Why don"t you go and join the party?" he suggested. "I"m sure they"ll make you very welcome."

Veena smiled, gave them all a quick hug, which Jamie rather liked, but which embarra.s.sed the Doctor, and then headed towards the sounds of laughter and singing coming from the tavern.

"Come on," said the Doctor to his companions. "Time for us to go home too..."

The Doctor"s uncanny instinct for locating his s.p.a.ce-time machine soon had them back inside the TARDIS. Jamie lost no time in disappearing into the ma.s.sive interior in search of food. Zoe remained in the console room, watching as the Doctor made some pre-flight checks to his instruments.

"Doctor," she began, unable to stop a thought that had been nagging her for a while now. The Doctor seemed to be totally absorbed by his work at the console.

"Yes, Zoe?" he said abstractedly.